Sunday, March 18, 2018

Despite how tempted I was to back Ashes of Creation, I had that collection of past experiences persistently reminding me that I needed to wait just in case the game turned out to be something that I didn't like. Turns out, my ability to resist backing this project was the right choice.

A few days ago, AoC released new pre-order packs/cosmetics in their store, and I was incredibly disappointed in what I saw, e.g. this new mount skin:

These pre-order packs raise some major red flags for me.

The devs stated that they wanted to make the game that MMO players have desired for so long, and my impression of the world they were trying to build was one with serious undertones in a Western setting to appeal to those of us who can't stand the Eastern MMO structure/art style. This teddy bear skin, however, is something that isn't congruent with the game they've stated they want to make, or with the footage we've seen so far. It is, plainly, something I'd expect to find in a shitty Eastern MMO's cash shop.

Is this indicative of what we can expect from the dev team and direction of this game? A cash shop filled with shiny, fluffy bullshit that ruins the immersion of the game and its ability to keep us captivated?

Sad to say, I've lost interest and faith in this project and will have to keep waiting hopefully for the game AoC pretended to be at first.

Note: I can reconcile my interest in a game with the existence of a cash shop in that game for cosmetics only, but even a cosmetic only cash shop needs to be extremely careful to only offer items that are congruent and immersive for the game's art style and setting. Unfortunately, it seems to be near impossible for devs to restrain themselves, even those who claim they're fellow MMO players who are also deeply frustrated by the current state of the industry.

Was cautiously optimistic about Ashes of Creation, but after new pre-order packs/teddy bear mount I've lost interest/faith